Exactly what is an RFID tag and why is it in your bin? A recent story by Channel 7 News would have you believe it’s some sort of spying device. The truth is a lot less sensational. As many residents would be aware, it’s been there for 10 years, it saves Council money and makes managing your rubbish more efficient.

In 2008 Randwick Council was the second Council in NSW to install Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags underneath red and yellow-lidded bins. Now many councils are doing it.

The tag is allocated to the property address where the bin lives. Each time it’s collected, Council’s garbage trucks record the bin tag number, the time of collection and the weight of the bin.

You may also recall the popular Green Money Rewards program that Council trialled in 2012. This smart system gave residents reward points to redeem at local businesses based on how much you recycled. It was made possible because of the RFID tag.

So why does Council need this information?

To save money
RFID tags keep costs down. Our waste contractors charge us per tonne of waste and recycling they collect. In the past, we’ve had no way of verifying the amount of waste they say they collect compared to what residents actually put out. Now we can. And this means we can keep costs down and save you money.

To return wandering bins
A lot like a missing puppy or cat with a microchip, we can now scan missing or ‘wandering’ bins and return them to their owner. This saves time and money. We can also check the time that a bin was collected and check if bins are presented for collection multiple times. This also helps make our rubbish collection more efficient.

To reduce waste
Our goal is to increase recycling and decrease waste going to landfill. The overall data from the RFID tags help us develop waste education strategies to do exactly this. We can track habits and put in place programs to help educate and inform people.

Who has access to this information?

Only Council and our waste contractor. Both parties adhere to strict privacy policies and information is only used for waste management. No personal details are collected or linked with any other information Council has on file.

What is Council going to do with this information in the future?

We’re currently exploring an open data strategy that could give you access to your own waste information. Imagine being able to log on to a secure website to see your weekly bin weight. Or perhaps we could include a graph on your rates notice. The more information you have the better equipped you are to make a difference.